Age of Rebirth

The first thousand and eighty-three chapters

General Alexander, the commander-in-chief of the British Army in Southeast Asia, after learning that the Japanese launched an attack on Yangon in Burma and southern Thailand in a sudden attack, was somewhat insane after being stimulated by this unbelievably alarming news. The first thing I thought of was not how to deal with the current situation, but the habit of protesting.

After shouting for a long time, none of his officers spoke up, and none of them drafted a letter of protest. Although the British officers have been pampered and pampered in the Southeast Asian colonies for many years, and feel that they are a few ranks higher than Asians, their brains have not yet been fully resolved. Broken, listening to the commander-in-chief like a shrew, yelling, shouting and protesting again and again, there is no nutrition.

Although he didn't say it in his mouth, in his stomach, he couldn't help but underestimated the commander-in-chief who was usually aloof. Protest?It's funny, the Japanese can understand the protests of the British, unless God himself comes forward, the Japanese will not even be in the mood to read such a protest letter, but will provoke ridicule, even the action of going to war with the Royal Army of the British Empire How can it be a paper of protest that can scare people.

The commander-in-chief is probably out of his mind, right?Alexander yelled for a while, but didn't get the response he deserved. He saw the idiot-like eyes of those mid-level and lower-level officers, and suddenly came to his senses. Protesting against the Japanese now is nothing but adding jokes and humiliating himself. , Your Excellency General can't get anything, and can't change the current situation. [

Look at Alexander, besides the protest he can take out, what other sharp weapon can he use?Concentrate the troops concentrated in northern Myanmar, China-Vietnam, and China-Laos borders to deal with the Chinese, and immediately transfer them to the southern part of the Indochina Peninsula to fight the Japanese to the death?Not to mention that Alexander did not have such capital and strength in his hands. According to intelligence from Thailand and Myanmar, the Japanese army invested at least 80 troops in the two places.

Even if there was, Alexander didn’t have the guts. The British army stationed in Southeast Asia only had 10,000+ troops, and the Burmese army only had 10,000+ people, which was less than half of the Japanese army’s strength. He, Alexander, was unable to return to his native land and stayed in Southeast Asia. He lost his status and was not even as good as a little bum.

Now, it is not a question of whether Alexander wants to fight, but a question of when the Japanese will stop. He can't figure it out anyway. The Indochina Peninsula raised the samurai sword. Aren’t the two sides allies? The Emperor of Japan even sent a telegram to himself.Why do Japanese turn their faces faster than dogs?Just bite?

Facing the chaotic battle situation, Alexander was completely confused. The war had been going on for more than ten hours. As the highest military commander of the British colonies in Southeast Asia, Alexander did not give even a single word of order to any of his troops. However, the British troops all over the country, without receiving clear instructions from the headquarters, were doing their own thing in the face of the ferocious Japanese attack.

Some were planning to surrender, and some, like Major General Etheridge, the commander of the Yangon Garrison, gave up the original defense area after a little resistance and withdrew to a place as far away from the Japanese as possible to avoid the limelight. Inside, the chaos of the British troops in various places has increased to an even higher level, such as Major General Etheridge's generation, they are still outstanding.

At the very least, he knew that he had fulfilled his duty as a soldier by reporting the form of the battlefield to his commander. The British commanders in other places might have been scared out of their wits. How to escape for your life, or an idea to save your life.

The officers are like this, and the soldiers below are even worse. These pampered young soldiers usually rarely even touch their guns a few times. Suddenly, he became a pile of minced meat. He was able to move, knew where to hide, and didn't pee his pants on the spot. He was already an elite member of the British Army stationed in Southeast Asia.

There are still some experienced and prudent officers who said to Alexander: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, the most urgent task at hand is to issue clear orders to all the troops that can be contacted. Only in this way can the situation of the battle be temporarily stabilized. , only in the chaos, the fate of being annihilated by the Japanese army one by one."

Alexander woke up like a dream, maybe he remembered his identity, but he really had no idea. All the previous plans were aimed at the Chinese Tang Qiuli. Now, it was replaced by Japanese from other directions. For a while, I really didn't know what to do. The so-called "hands-on plan" is a true portrayal of Alexander's current situation.

At this point, Alexander no longer cared about the face of any British gentleman, and asked in a questioning tone: "With your suggestions, how should we deal with the current situation?" The chief of staff of the British Army Command in Southeast Asia, Lieutenant General Francis , the officer with the highest rank and position besides Alexander, could not help but speak.

Lieutenant General Francis was a young general in the British army stationed in Southeast Asia. He had fundamental differences with Alexander in many strategic thinking directions. Under Alexander's pressure, he, the chief of staff, had no real power at all. The contradictions between them are very deep, especially on the issue of forming an alliance with the Japanese. At this time, on the one hand, they secretly feel happy for the situation that the old guy Alexander is facing.

On the other hand, out of military duties, he didn't want 10,000+ British soldiers to be ruined by the incompetent Alexander, so he thought about it and said: "General, the Japanese army's offensive is fierce. Our army, no matter how bravely we fight There is no way to stop the Japanese attack. In order to avoid heavy losses, the top priority is to order the troops from all over the country to immediately retreat to the north of Myanmar. Mandalay is the assembly point. After gathering the troops, we can make the next step.”

Alexander's eyes lit up, and he thought to himself, "Francis still has some dry stuff in his stomach," but after retreating to Mandalay, what should he do next? Le, what should I do?His head was still full of muddleheadedness, and he didn't have any notes at all.

Alexander, who was sober, did not lose his mouth when he lost his words, and said with the style of the commander-in-chief: "Your Excellency Chief of Staff, as the commander-in-chief and chief of staff of the British Empire in Southeast Asia, you should come up with a complete and detailed plan, for example, If the Japanese army continues to pursue and attack northern Myanmar, how should we deal with it?"

Francis saw through the old guy's tone at a glance, and felt a little tired, but said sincerely: "Your Excellency, Commander-in-Chief, this is an inevitable problem. Since the Japanese have made up their minds to annex the Indochina Peninsula, and have already Putting it into action, we will never allow our army to exist in any form in northern Myanmar."

"Therefore, there are two ways to deal with it. First, contact the headquarters of the army stationed in India immediately. We are in Mandalay, northern Myanmar. Once we are attacked by the Japanese army, all troops will withdraw to eastern India along the Kanxi River Valley. Plum, only by fighting with the Indian army can we have the strength to contend with the Japanese army. The second and most important point is to immediately ask the Chinese Tang Qiuli for help and ask him to send troops to the Indochina Peninsula. The enemy of the enemy is our friend , which is the only point that can be exploited.”

In fact, Francis has not yet uttered all the words in his heart. This is a strategy to blame the neighbors. Its real purpose is to use the independent division to cover the safe withdrawal of the British and Burmese troops to Puram, India. The hatred between the Chinese and the Japanese, Tang Qiuli will definitely agree to this kindness sent to his door.

However, there is no need to say this to the old guy too bluntly. Even so, Alexander and Francis couldn't help but twitch his face. When dealing with people, turn your face away and talk about cooperation. Xiao is Mr. Alexander, a British gentleman. No matter how thick-skinned he is, he can't help but blush.

Alexander did not comment, and said vaguely: "Give me some time, let me think about it carefully." Francis accepted it as soon as he saw it, and didn't say anything more, but he could see that Alexander would eventually adopt a direct strategy. [

However, the Japanese did not give the British any extra time. The Japanese army attacked at the same time in southern Thailand and southern Myanmar in Southeast Asia, and caught the British off guard. Divided into three, according to the pre-war plan of the Japanese base camp, the troops landing in Yangon, Myanmar will be used as a combat unit in a separate direction.

The purpose of the battle was to encircle and wipe out all the British troops in Burma, control the territory facing the Bay of Bengal, and uproot the British power in the Indochina Peninsula. The second purpose was to use Burma as a springboard to attack India westward. In the eastern region, because there are more than [-] British troops stationed in Puram in eastern India, if the final strength of the British is not completely destroyed in the South Asian subcontinent, the Japanese will never rest assured and go all out to fight In the South Pacific, compete with the Americans.

The Southeast Asian war that happened in advance is not quite the same as the historical records. The Japanese army put all its troops into the attack on the traditional sphere of influence of the British in the Indochina Peninsula, but did not take action for the southern part of the South China Sea, including the Americans. The sphere of influence, Luzon Island and Mindanao in the Philippines.

The task of capturing Singapore and controlling the Strait of Malacca was especially for the Japanese Navy and Marine Corps. Originally, when formulating the Southeast Asian combat plan, the Japanese Army was absolutely entrusted with the task of occupying the Malay Peninsula and Singapore to the Navy. Reluctantly, with the troops and strength accumulated by the Japanese Army in Southeast Asia, it is fully capable of completing this strategic plan alone.

Why let the navy take a share of the pie? All the generals in the army felt very uncomfortable, so the opposition was particularly fierce.

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